December 2013 Newsletter: Happy Holidays!

Dear Friends,

The holiday season makes us particularly grateful for family, and that has certainly been the case with our SOIL family this month.  Opportunities to support one another have abounded - from our Cap-Haitien team moving to their new office to the Port-au-Prince staff pitching in at the compost site. This truly is a group of people who care deeply for one another and the communities in which we work.

We're also grateful for the greater SOIL family, for the love and solidarity of our supporters around the world. We never cease to be amazed that so many of you share words of encouragement, monetary and in-kind donations, and your considerable talents so generously with SOIL. We would not be able to have the impact that we do without your support.

We hope you will take a moment to catch up on some of the SOIL news below – a lot has happened over the past month! – and that you will be inspired to make a holiday contribution. Whether you make a donation on our website, purchase gifts that benefit SOIL, or help us out with an item from our wish list, you're helping SOIL continue our effort to bring greater dignity and health to the people and environment of Haiti.

We hope that this holiday season, your family is as blessed as ours.

With love from Haiti,
Sasha and the entire SOIL team

December Updates

	Holiday Shopping with SOIL Diyite, the Haitian Creole word for dignity, is a new collection launched by Robbie Simon Jewelry to benefit SOIL. The Diyite collection includes handcrafted jewelry made by Haitian artisans, as well as limited-edition designer pieces. Read more about the Diyite collection and other unique SOIL gifts ideas.
	Transforming Trutier Transformation - of wastes into resources, of disempowered people into community leaders, of barren landscapes into lush, productive gardens - has always been one of our core values. Check out these beautiful photos of the transformation that happened in one short year when SOIL took over a corner of the Port-au-Prince city dump.
	Supporting "Underground" Sanitation Workers Haiti’s bayakou (latrine workers) have long been shrouded in mystery. Read about SOIL's outreach efforts to bayakou workers in Haiti and continued expansion of ecological and safe waste treatment options in the country.
	SOIL Goes to Cuba! Over the past year, SOIL has increasingly incorporated permaculture principles into our agricultural programs. A recent two-week training course provided key SOIL agricultural staff with a chance to develop and refine their knowledge and learn knew skills critical for supporting Haitian farmers. Read more.
	Video: What Does SOIL Do? The Nature Conservancy / RARE Conservation Solution Search recently recognized the innovative ways SOIL is helping Haitians adapt to the impacts of climate change.  Check out this short video overview by agronomist Jean-Marie Noel after accepting First Prize in the People’s Choice category on behalf of SOIL.

Join Us

• Join us on Facebook and Twitter and tell all your friends about us too!
• Help SOIL increase sanitation access in Haiti this holiday season by making a contribution today at www.oursoil.org/donate
• Please help us continue the positive momentum throughout 2014 by signing up for a monthly recurring donation.